Coleman to help, not lead, schools

Saturday

Sep 22, 2012 at 12:01 AMSep 22, 2012 at 12:19 PM

Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman plans to lend his leadership to the Columbus City Schools, including helping to select a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Gene Harris. "Now is the time that we all jump in," Coleman said during a news conference yesterday at City Hall. "And this is not something that we defer to the school district."

Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman plans to lend his leadership to the Columbus City Schools, including helping to select a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Gene Harris.

“Now is the time that we all jump in,” Coleman said during a news conference yesterday at City Hall. “And this is not something that we defer to the school district.”

But Coleman doesn’t want to directly run the schools, which would require a complicated change in state law.

“In leading this effort, I’ve no intention of assuming control over the district,” Coleman said.

While City Council President Andrew J. Ginther stood by Coleman to offer his support during the news conference, notably absent was anyone who currently runs the school district — even Harris. The Columbus Board of Education never asked the mayor for his assistance.

“I told them I’m going to be engaged,” Coleman said, “and they appear to be supportive.”

“The (school) board will continue to maintain its control of the district; that’s not going to change,” said board member Gary Baker. “Nobody wants to see that change.”At the news conference, Coleman said he and Ginther will reach out to local and national experts to determine what solutions might help a district in which 82 percent of children are economically disadvantaged and where a growing number have academic challenges. Then, he said, they plan to bring business, nonprofit and community groups together to carry out those solutions.

Local officials say Coleman and Ginther got involved after discussions with business leaders, who requested that the two city officials take a role in school decision-making.

That’s not true, said Alex Fischer, president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership, a group representing the leaders of large Columbus organizations and businesses, including The Dispatch Printing Company.

It was Coleman who reached out to ask the Partnership to support his new role in the school district, Fischer said.

“We have not had any discussions (with Coleman) as it relates to the selection of a new superintendent,” Fischer said.

School-board members were too busy yesterday to stand by Coleman and Ginther during their announcement, Baker said. “That doesn’t send any sort of message at all, other than folks are swamped.”

“I wasn’t invited,” said board member Mike Wiles.

Coleman called Wiles on Thursday and assured him that he has “no desire whatsoever to run the schools,” Wiles said. Instead, the mayor offered up his ability to communicate with business and civic leaders as well as voters.

The mayor is offering his “bully pulpit,” Wiles said.

Will the board make it official by voting to accept the mayor’s newly offered leadership skills?

“No, I don’t see us doing that,” Baker said.

Coleman said Harris — who announced on Thursday, amid a state investigation into student-data rigging, that she would retire at the end of the school year — “asked me to do more.”

But Coleman later clarified that “I can’t say that (Harris) called me and said ‘Will you get involved?’??” Rather, it was a series of conversations over time, which began with Coleman telling Harris he wanted and needed to get more involved, “and she said, ‘You know, you should be involved, you should be engaged.’??”

“I am not an educator and I will not act like I am an educator,” Coleman said. “My role is one of helping improve Columbus City Schools, and I am asking the community, the private sector and local and national experts to help us achieve that goal.”

Ginther said choosing Harris’ replacement will be one of the top priorities, but that first he needs to talk with school-board members and members of the private sector.

“This is Day One of this new role, and we need to have some important conversations,” said Ginther, who began his political career on the school board. “(On Thursday,) Dr. Harris called on the mayor and I to help, and that’s what we plan to do.”

School Board President Carol Perkins did not return calls for comment.

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